Recent News

Placing a special emphasis on student compositions, the East Central University Music Department is conducting its 12th Annual ECU Faculty, Students and Friends Composer Concert – Special Student Edition – on Monday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ataloa Theatre of the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center.

J. Michael Prince, who graduated at the top of his class from East Central University in 1993 and a Latta High School graduate, was recently named chief executive officer for United States Polo Association Global Licensing Inc., which is the official licensing arm and national broadcaster of the U.S. Polo Association.

Prince had served as chief operating officer of USPA Global Licensing Inc. since May of 2017. The USPAGL manages the U.S. Polo Assn. brand, the USPA’s $1.5 billion global sport-inspired apparel brand.

On the 170th anniversary of the publication of The Communist Manifesto, Linscheid Library Academic Friends and ECU SCREENS are hosting “The Spectre of Marx: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Marxism, Its Origins, and Its Ghostly Presence in Our Contemporary World.”

At 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the conference will begin with a series of presentations by six ECU faculty who will discuss Marx and his legacy from the perspective of the humanities, philosophy, history, legal studies, economics and Russian studies.

East Central University’s Eighth Annual Foreign Film Festival concludes on Friday, Feb. 16, with a screening of Nise: The Heart of Madness, which will be preceded by “When Art Heals”: an expert panel discussion with a question and answer session about the power of art to heal and to educate.

“When Art Heals” will begin at 3 p.m. and the film screening will begin at 4 p.m. Both events will be held in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center of the Bill S. Cole University Center. Admission is free and open to the public.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a Pulitzer Prize winning musical, will be presented by the East Central University Theatre Department, Feb. 15-17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ataloa Theatre of the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center.

Based on Shepherd Mead’s 1952 book, the musical opened in October 1961 and was the winner of seven Tony Awards, a New York Drama Critics Award and the 1962 Pulitzer Prize. It starred Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee, who reprised their roles in the 1967 film.

The East Central University Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Steven Walker, was recently ranked in a tie for 25th place in the Mixed Chorus Division by Interkultur, the largest organizer of amateur choir contests in the world.

Annually, Interkultur ranks the top 1,000 choirs in the world that compete in various categories. The ECU Chorale tied with a choir from Latvia. Only four other choirs from the United States were ranked higher than ECU.

East Central University’s Eighth Annual Foreign Film Festival begins Friday with door prizes and the first of three films for the first three Fridays in the month of February.

Several local businesses are kicking in door prizes to support the festival at 4 p.m. on Fridays in February in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center of the Bill S. Cole University Center. Admission is free and open to the public.

East Central University's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students, faculty, staff, and community
interact to educate students for life in a rapidly changing and culturally diverse society. Within its service area,
East Central University provides leadership for economic development and cultural enhancement.